Author: Camper English

  • Scotland Day Four: Pipercount- Two!

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    Camper English
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    I started the morning at 5AM catching up on live blogging Scotland. Then I had a walk past Huntly castle and the adorable town of Huntly. It reminded me of towns in Napa and Sonoma in a way, in that it’s all cute all-too clean small-town goodness, except in this case it’s 400 or so…

  • Scotland photos

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    Camper English
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    By the way, the photos from my trip can be seen on my Flickr page here, organized by day and distillery. I’ll be adding more pictures as I go along. Labels: scotch, travel

  • Scotland Day Three: Death defying

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    Camper English
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    This morning I feel much better after having suffered from near-fatal jetlag the whole trip. I was averaging four hours of sleep or less since the day before the trip began, but last night I finally caught up and had nearly ten hours’ worth. It was easier here, as we’re staying in the hotel adjacent…

  • Scotland Day Two: Pipe-free

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    Camper English
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    Yesterday we visited the Royal Lochnagar distillery, a very small, pristine place located next to the summer residence of the Queen of England. (The distillery was there first.) On the drive here the landscape turned from lush and green to tall rocky hills covered in heather- which looks like an ugly brown bush when it’s…

  • Piperwatch

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    Camper English
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    Scotland Day One- Bagpipe count: 1 I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of bagpipes involved on this press trip. When I went to Mexico on a tequila trip we had one to three different mariachi groups per day. I think it’s gonna be like that with bagpipes, which are just…

  • SF Represent!

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    I picked up a copy of Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 to see what the representation of bars and cocktails around the country was. West Coast drinks have been getting more attention in the past year and it’s great to see this reflected in the book. The cocktails from the Bay Area are: Grapefruit Flamingo…

  • Grappa in the SF Chronicle

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    By me, in today’s SF Chronicle Italy’s Fiery Grappa the Latest Spirit to Go Upscale by Camper English Several spirits have overhauled their previously negative reputations in recent years. Tequila lovers now pay up to several hundred dollars per bottle, and consumers who wouldn’t touch gin three years ago now shake it with egg whites…

  • Dry Drunk: The Cocktails of Thad Vogler at Beretta

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    What’s up with my iPhone-tography skills? Do I have to be good at everything? Anyway, Beretta. I was only thinking about the cocktails when I went there, but it turns out that with inexpensive food and lots of communal seating, this may be the one cocktail restaurant in which I can actually afford to eat.…

  • At Beretta, less is more

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    When Beretta opens (currently scheduled for April 1), cocktail fans will recognize many familiar faces behind the bar. Thad Vogler (Slanted Door, Jardiniere, Bourbon & Branch) is leading the bar program, and some of the people taking shifts there will be Jon Santer (Bruno’s, Range, Tres Agaves, B&B), Todd Smith (Cortez, B&B), Ryan Fitzgerald (Tres…

  • Branch news

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    Camper English
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    News from Bourbon & Branch: They’ve added classes on Cocktails 101, Rum, and Absinthe to the Beverage Academy Taking co-management positions after Todd Smith’s departure are Joel Baker and Yanni Kehagiaras (pictured) Russell’s Room, an additional private room built into the former barbershop next door, is scheduled to open in April. Labels: bars, education, SanFrancisco